Articles & Events Archives

YELL | Young Worker Summit

Join us on Saturday, November 9th at 1:00pm to meet fellow young workers, plan for the coming year, elect YELL leadership and more!

This is a tremendous opportunity for young unionists to get involved in Oregon’s growing labor movement. Since 2010, YELL has paved the way for young workers to network, develop leadership skills and become active in the fight for social and economic justice.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on GOP Shutdown and Debt Ceiling

"No party or faction inside a party should hold our economy hostage to extract political gains. We commend President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and the leadership of the Democratic party for standing firm and resisting extortion."

On Tuesday, September 17th, the Oregon AFL-CIO is co-sponsoring a leg of the Walk for Citizenship between Redmond and Bend. We will be walking side-by-side with our allies in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform, as we deliver petitions to Congressman Walden’s office in Bend calling on him to bring real reform to the House of Representatives. We’ll be walking the final 5-mile stretch of a 42.2 mile march and want to have as many union members as possible join in - come walk with the Oregon AFL-CIO, Oregon AFSCME .

Our march starts around 1:00pm on the 17th, as we join marchers while they make their way south from Madras. If you’re interested in joining us, we need to know in advance so that we can coordinate the logistics, please email jess@oraflcio.org to sign up and get more information.

Around this time many corporations are preparing their SEC filings. Meanwhile, some workers get to take a day off to recognize the efforts they make every day to keep those corporations profitable. Most workers, however, will be on the job on Labor Day.

Please help spread the word and share this petition on your Facebook and Twitter pages.

Organizing Press Conference

Union members across Oregon are trying something new - and it's working. Oregon has seen union membership increase most of the last five years, even as states across the country see more and more unorganized workers struggling to make ends meet. But union members in Oregon decided they needed to do more to help workers who were interested in forming a union on the job.

SB 833, called the Safe Roads Act, passed the Oregon House with a strong bipartisan majority today and is headed to the Governor's desk. The bill ensures that Oregonian who do not qualify for a traditional driver's license because they don't have proper legal documents, or lost their birth certificate somewhere along the way, can apply for a short-term license that allows them to have insurance and legally drive.

Workers Memorial Day

Please join us next Monday, April 29th, at noon to remember Oregon’s fallen workers. The ceremony will take place at the Fallen Workers Memorial outside the Labor and Industries building on the State Capitol Mall.

Paywatch

Check out the 2013 AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch site, where you can find the most comprehensive data on outrageous CEO pay and compare your own salary to that of the highest paid CEOs. You can also take action to rein in CEO pay, so be sure to help spread the word!

The President is making the wrong choice on budget cuts

Yesterday the AFL-CIO learned President Obama's budget will cut Social Security and Medicare benefits for working families. The so-called "chained" CPI will cut Social Security benefits and middle-income seniors (people who made $47,000 a year and more) will be asked to pay higher Medicare premiums.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka responds to the Senate blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform

"A bipartisan Senate group beginning the process to address our failed immigration system is an important and long overdue first step toward addressing our country’s broken immigration system. We are especially encouraged to see that at long last there is bipartisan agreement on our top priority, that immigration reform must include a viable path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants who call America home."

Click here to read a letter from Senator Jeff Merkley about his commitment to bringing jobs home.

On Our Side

Not Committed

Opposed

Sen. Merkley

Sen. Wyden

Rep. Blumenauer

Rep Schrader

Rep. DeFazio

Rep. Walden

Rep. Bonamici

Make Your Fourth of July BBQ Union Friendly!

Are you planning a BBQ for the 4th? Make it union friendly!
Head to www.uniongoods.org to download a graphic with suggestions. While you’re there, search for other goods & submit anything that we’ve missed!

Mitt Romney - Mr. 1%

1,800 University of Oregon Workers Win Union Voice

Workers at the University of Oregon have voted to join United Academics, an AFT-Oregon affiliate along with the American Association of University Professors.
Click here to read the full story.

So-called “Right to Work” legislation has been appearing in states across the country, and it falls on all of us to deflect these attacks on workers’ rights. It's time for us to stand up for workers in Indiana and fight back against "Right to Work."

"Leaders are judged not just by what they say but to whom they listen. President Obama's speech tonight shows that he has listened to the single mom working two jobs to get by, to the out-of-work construction worker, to the retired factory worker, to the student serving coffee to help pay for college."

We know job creation should be the number one priority for both Congress and the Oregon Legislature. Any decision made on policy or budget needs to be made with good jobs and the economy in mind. Today, President Obama made it a priority as well.

Last night, Representative Greg Walden was among a group of Congressmen who single-handedly brought 31,900 Oregonians to the brink of losing everything. By voting against renewal of unemployment benefits, Walden has turned his back on his constituents who are struggling to make ends meet.

Yesterday Republicans on the so-called “Super Committee” proposed lowering tax rates for the richest Americans while cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in Social Security and Medicare benefits that middle class Americans depend on. This is Robin Hood in reverse: class warfare against the American middle class on behalf of the top 1 percent.

Social Security services are once again being threatened by budget cuts. We know cutting vital services like Social Security benefits isn't the answer. Join the American Federation of Government Employees and others as we defend Social Security today:

Come together today in downtown Portland as we stand up & advocate for a fair economy that works for everyone. Interested in marching with the AFL-CIO? We’ll be at North Waterfront Park / Ankeny Plaza at noon.

President Richard Trumka and UFCW President Joseph Hansen explain how WalMart’s urban expansion plans are dangerous to our communities.

"When Walmart opens in a community, it regularly displaces existing jobs with poverty-level jobs. Tens of thousands of Walmart associates qualify for and utilize food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. In this time of budgetary stress, Walmart's business model is subsidized on the backs of American taxpayers."

With no end in sight to the debt ceiling debate, our Congressmen are still working on a compromise. Unfortunately, this means the town hall event on July 22nd that we mentioned in the last Weekly Update is canceled.

Congress must find a solution that doesn’t balance the budget on the backs of the middle class. What are you hoping to see happen before August 2nd’? Head to www.facebook.com/oregonaflcio and let us know!

The National Labor Relations Board has taken the first step toward bringing union election rules into the 21st century and addressing a backlog of changes that needed to occur.Read more about the proposed change here.

Cool Schools Clears the House!

Rep. Jules Bailey called it “too good to pass up” and we couldn’t agree more. Cool Schools has unanimously passed through the House and is headed for the Senate.

This bill will create jobs and help our schools save money down the road.

We know you like the union movement, but are you willing to rock it?
Check out the single from Tom Morello called “Union Town” from the upcoming EP featuring great labor related songs. All proceeds from the EP will go toward helping workers fight for their rights!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Register to Vote!

Tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote in the May election! If you’ve recently moved or aren’t registered, head to www.oregonvotes.org. Your vote is your voice and we all need to speak - local elections are where leaders are developed, and where change starts to be made!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Support Union School Bus Drivers!

School bus drivers in the Gresham-Barlow district recently won the right to unionize and are now proud members of OSEA/AFT Local 6732.

The drivers are negotiating their first contract and need our support.

Show your support tomorrow, April 14th, across from the offices of First Student, the company who employs the drivers and provides transportation for the district.

First Student is located at 1625 SE Hogan Road in Gresham, Oregon. The rally will begin at 5:00pm

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Call Out the Vote!

Oregon is far from Wisconsin but the attacks on working families in the Midwest effect all of us. Help get Scott Walker and his cronies recalled by talking to Wisconsin voters about why he must go.http://calloutthevote.com/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Right to Work” legislation aimed at kneecapping unions is struck down in Indiana!

"Republicans have agreed to scrap the controversial right-to-work law that led the Democrats to shut things down back on Feb. 22. Republicans have also pledged not to pass a law making the state's existing ban on collective bargaining for state workers, created by Governor Daniels executive order, permanent. "

100 years ago today, a tragic fire sparked lasting labor reform and much needed protections for workers. This video of Rep. Tobias Read puts the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire into perspective one century later:

Transportation Safety Administration’s employees win the right to organize

Since the Agency was created in 2001, The Transportation Safety Administration’s employees have sought to form a union. Last week, after a decade of being held down, TSA officers were granted the right to organize - a big win and the first step toward a better life for Transportation Security Officers.